Octopus tips United to beat Barca

BENALMADENA, Spain, May 26, 2011 (AFP) – Iker the ‘pyschic’ octopus has predicted Manchester United will beat Barcelona to be crowned club champions of Europe in Saturday’s final in London.

Iker forecast a United win in the Champions League by choosing to eat a sardine from a glass cylinder decorated with the club’s crest instead of one from a cylinder with Barcelona’s crest at the Sea Life Aquarium in the southern resort of Benalmadena.

Barca need not worry though, as Iker last month wrongly forecast the Spanish club’s arch-rival Real Madrid would make the Wembley final.

The 16-kilo (35-pound) cephalopod from the Pacific, named after Real keeper Iker Casillas, did however correctly predict Real’s 1-1 draw against Barcelona in La Liga on April 16 and the club’s 1-0 win over the Catalan club in the King’s Cup final four days later.

During the World Cup in South Africa last year, Paul, an octopus in the German town of Oberhausen, became world famous after correctly predicting all the results involving the German team, as well as that of the final, won by Spain.